The excitement builds as the release
of
Kriki's Gift, Book Two of the Geometry
of Power
draws near.
Wanting
to take advantage of their enemies' ignorance to their presence, the captain
issued his commands in low whispers and gestures. They dismounted, spread out
along the road, and readied to scale the rock-strewn slope. They then worked
their way up the slope. Pender set the pace so they stayed together. The
Rangers' attack had been devastatingly effective and the ground was littered
with dead and mortally wounded fighters. All others had left their positions
to help the Valkea. The Guardsmen worked their way around the bodies and
continued up the slope to the rocky ledge.
"Surrender
or die!" Pender bellowed when he and his men reached striking distance.
It
was as if the Valkea's men were linked mentally, for they all seemed to turn as
one. "Kill them," the tallest man screamed madly.
All
the Valkea's followers had been filled with impotent rage at their inability to
help her. Their pent up anger flowed forth and they charged into Pender's men
with insane recklessness. They had a certain advantage for they were uphill
from the Guardsmen, but they were outmatched in numbers, for the Rangers had
decimated their ranks so a scant twenty men remained.
The
tall man ran straight for Pender and raised a short sword over his head to rain
down a killing blow. Having no experience in swordsmanship, he didn't realize
he was leaving his torso completely exposed - a fact Pender took advantage of
by delivering a quick thrust into his midsection. The tall man responded as if
he felt no pain and walked deeper into the blade to get close enough to strike
at the captain. Pender deflected the blow with his shield, extracted his
sword, and beheaded him.
All
of the Valkea's fighters seemed to be entirely devoid of fear and oblivious to
pain as they fought. The fight was reduced to a brutal business of hacking the
Valkea's men to death. It was a sickening sight but a familiar one to the few
men present, such as Lieutenant Cherok, who had fought with the howling mob at
the altar the day before.
It
was soon over and Pender's men were alone on the slope. The blazing light
still radiated forth so intensely it created it's own shadows. The men stood
with their eyes averted to protect their vision. They were surprised that the
column of light gave off no heat.
"An
awesome display of power," Pender remarked. "Small wonder it's
reported the King and Queen collapse after fighting with their crystals."
Cherok
nodded his head in agreement. "Praise the Spirit Their Majesties are
capable of such a mighty assault. I felt the Valkea's anger when she attacked
Lady Carra's train. Let's pray they didn't suffer too much before the
Champions began their battle."
"Agreed."
Pender glanced back to the road. "The decoy wagon took some good hits.
I wonder how many men were lost or wounded."
"Let's
hope not many."
"What
mindless maniacs. They didn't seem to care that they were dying in such a
hopeless fight."
"Just
like yesterday."
"And
just like yesterday, more will surely come. I'm sure all of the Valkea's
people are aware of her peril." He pointed his sword towards the tunnel.
"Do you hear that noise, Cherok?"
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